Indonesia receives big shock, seriously affecting World Cup dream

The Indonesian team will focus all its efforts on preparing for two matches against China and Japan in the third qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup. These are the last matches of Garuda (Indonesia's nickname) in this period.

Four Indonesian players will be absent from the match against the Chinese team (Photo: Goal).

They can still hope to qualify directly for the 2026 World Cup when they are ranked 4th with 9 points, 4 points behind 2nd place Australia and 3 points behind 3rd place Saudi Arabia. At least, coach Kluivert's team wants to stay in the top 4 to qualify for the 4th qualifying round of the World Cup.

However, ahead of the match against China (at Bung Karno Stadium on June 5), Indonesia suffered a major loss in terms of personnel. Accordingly, two pillars, goalkeeper Maarten Paes and midfielder Marselino Ferdinan, will definitely not be able to participate due to accumulating enough yellow cards.

In addition, it is likely that two other pillars of Indonesia, Kevin Diks and Dean James, will also be absent due to injury. Kevin Diks, who plays for FC Copenhagen, will have to sit out the rest of the season due to injury. Dean James has also not played for the Go Ahead Eagles for a long time.

The absence of so many key players has significantly affected coach Kluivert's preparation plan. The disruption at this important stage could force Indonesia to change its playing style.

Kevin Diks is a European-class defender from Indonesia (Photo: Bola).

Faced with this situation, the President of the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI), Erick Thohir, emphasized the importance of building a quality reserve force. He said: "The risk of injury in football is always present. We need to build a first team with double or even triple the number of players. Only by developing a talented team can we avoid risks. The Indonesian team is still considering alternative options."

In other developments, Indonesia has applied to host the fourth qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup. Indonesian Football Federation executive committee member Arya Sinulingga admitted that teams in the Middle East have an advantage in this race because of their very good facilities. However, Indonesia still applied and waited for luck.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/indonesia-nhan-cu-soc-lon-anh-huong-nghiem-trong-toi-giac-mo-world-cup-20250508182533285.htm